A Little More Than That
by Spnchick09
Summary: Ruthie's heading off to college, and Martin, along with her family, is there to wish her well. Absolute fluff.


**Disclaimer: **I don't own 7th Heaven or anything affiliated with it.

**Author's Note: **A simple one-shot, that is absolutely fluff.

* * *

Ruthie sighed, putting her last belonging into a large black suitcase. She'd finished packing, and looked at the room around her.

Her furniture was staying, along with a few miscellaneous items and articles of clothing that she wouldn't need for the next few months. She'd agreed to come home in the winter during Christmas break. That said, she'd packed for the fall, and would repack when she came home.

She zipped up the suitcase, looking up when Martin walked into the room.

"Hey," he greeted, kissing her cheek.

"Hi! What're you doing here?" she asked.

"Sandy and Aaron and I wanted to say goodbye to you. And your parents invited us," he told her.

Ruthie nodded, smiling. "How is Aaron?" she asked.

Martin chuckled lightly. "He's going through his terrible two's. I think I'm getting gray hairs already."

Ruthie laughed. "That's not possible. You're only twenty."

"Who's to say it's not possible?" he asked.

Ruthie smiled, heaving her suitcase off the bed and onto the floor. She sat down, letting her legs hang off the side.

Martin sat down beside her, and looked around at the much emptier room.

"You scared?" he asked.

"Of going to college?"

Martin nodded.

"You'd think I would be, but I'm really not. Maybe it just hasn't hit me, yet. Who knows, I may start to freak out when I get off the plane," she laughed.

Martin smiled. "I remember when I went off to Sequoia. Even though it was close to here, it still freaked me out. Of course, it may have just been the fact that I'd become a father a couple months before that."

"But you were close. Just an hour's drive or so north of here," Ruthie reasoned. "I'm going hours south."

"Ruth, USC isn't that far away," Martin countered.

"I know. But I've never been that far away from my family, except when I went to Puerto Rico. But this is different. I'll be gone for months," she said quietly.

Martin looked into her eyes, before hugging her. "You'll be fine," he whispered into her ear.

Ruthie smiled, resting her chin on his shoulder.

The two sat quietly for a moment, before Aaron toddled into the room.

"Daddy..." Aaron giggled, holding his arms out.

Martin grinned, picking his son up and putting him in his lap.

"He really loves you," Ruthie commented.

"Yeah, he does. Sometimes, I still can't believe he's mine," he laughed.

"He has your smile. Definitely your son," Ruthie chuckled.

Martin kissed his son's forehead, and watched him slide of his lap and toddle back out the door.

"Apparently he just wanted to make sure I was alive," Martin kidded.

"Ruthie!" Annie called.

"Yeah?" Ruthie yelled back.

"We need to leave, honey," Annie said, walking into the room. "You'll need a couple hours to get through security and everything."

Ruthie nodded. "I'm coming," she replied.

Annie smiled at her daughter and walked out of the room.

Ruthie stood, pulling out the handle from the suitcase.

"Here, I'll get it," Martin said, taking the handle from her.

"Thanks," Ruthie offered, smiling up at him.

Martin smiled in return, and rolled the bag behind him, making his way downstairs and outside.

After lugging the bag into the back of the Camden's van, he went back inside, where Ruthie stood in the foyer.

"Nervous?"

Ruthie nodded. "I'm actually leaving here," she whispered.

Martin smiled. "You'll be fine. You'll stun everyone with your intelligence and insight," he kidded.

Ruthie playfully slapped his chest, as Sandy walked in from the kitchen.

"Hey, Ruthie," Sandy greeted, hugging her.

"Hi," Ruthie replied, after pulling away from the hug she'd received from Sandy.

"She's nervous," Martin explained.

Sandy nodded. "Don't be. You'll do just fine."

Ruthie laughed. "I know that. It's just weird."

Martin and Sandy both knowingly nodded. "Yeah, it was weird leaving home," Sandy said.

"Yep, it was. Even though it was more weird leaving this house than my dad's," Martin laughed.

* * *

Ruthie walked slowly, with her family in tow, and approached the first security checkpoint.

She turned around, smiling at her family with tears in her eyes.

"This is it," she said quietly.

Annie hurriedly walked towards her daughter, shortly followed by Lucy, who was pregnant with her second child.

"I love you, sweetie," Annie whispered, kissing her daughter's cheek.

"You'll be the best psychology major there," Lucy kidded. "Just don't overanalyze everyone you meet, alright?"

Ruthie laughed in spite of the tears forming in her eyes.

"Okay, I'll try not to."

Eric exchanged a hug with his daughter, telling her he loved her, and asking her to call when her plane landed.

Ruthie accepted hugs from Kevin, Savannah, Sandy, Aaron, Sam, Simon, Rose,and David, and smiled to herself as Martin walked over to her.

"I'm sad to see you go," he said quietly.

Ruthie sniffled. "I don't want to leave you," she whispered.

Martin tilted her head upwards. "You're not leaving me, Ruth."

Ruthie cocked her head. "What're you talking about?"

"You have my number. You can call me any chance you get," he told her.

Ruthie weakly smiled. "I know that," she whispered.

"Then don't cry," he whispered, chuckling lightly.

"Martin..." she started.

"What?"

"I...I love you," she whispered.

Martin stood rooted to the spot. "Ruthie..."

Ruthie was silent a moment, before laughing to herself.

"Of course. You don't love me. How could I be so stupid?"

"No, Ruth..." Martin stammered.

"It's okay. I've gotta go anyway," she said quickly, pulling her suitcase behind her. She stalked off, shaking her brown curls onto her back as she left.

Martin turned around slowly, finding a confused Eric and Annie.

"What happened?" Eric asked quietly.

Martin started stuttering, shocked from the words he'd just exchanged with her.

"She...she told me...she loves me," he said slowly, staring at the floor. "And I didn't say it back."

"What?" Lucy asked.

"She walked off before I could say anything," he defended himself.

"I can't believe you! You just let her go like that? She'll be so down on herself when she gets there..." Lucy started yelling.

"Luce, stop," Simon said. "Martin, do you have her cell number?"

Martin smiled. "Yeah, I do. Thanks," he said quietly.

Simon nodded, and watched Martin walk a few feet away as he dialed her number.

Ruthie sniffled, wiping a tear from her cheek. She heard her cell phone start ringing, and fished through her purse for it, not bothering to look at the caller id.

"What?" she asked.

"Ruth? It's me," Martin said.

Ruthie took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. "I have nothing to say to you."

"You didn't even let me finish earlier," Martin cut in. "I wanted to say...I love you, too," he whispered.

"What?" Ruthie yelled, not sure she'd heard him right.

"I said that I love you, too. You just didn't give me time to say it," he repeated.

Ruthie's heart swelled. "You mean that?"

"Yeah, I do. I really do, Ruthie."

"Good."

Martin laughed.

"So...what are we now?" Ruthie asked.

"What?"

"I mean, are we friends or...?"

Martin smiled to himself. "Well, Ms. Psychologist, I think you know we're a little more than that."

* * *

Okay. Pure fluff, right? Please review. :) I hope you enjoyed. 


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